
Dr Maria Varaki
Lecturer in International Law
- Co-Director of the War Crimes Research Group
Research interests
- Conflict
- Law
- Security
Contact details
Biography
Dr Maria Varaki is a lecturer in international law at the War Studies Department, King's College London. Before moving to London, she was a senior research fellow with the Erik Castren Institute of International Law and Human Rights in Helsinki, working on an Aristotelian theory of ethics for global governance. Immediate before, she was an Assistant Professor in International Law at Kadir Has University, Faculty of Law in Istanbul. Before joining Kadir Has University, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Law Faculty of Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a visiting fellow at the iCourts Centre of the University of Copenhagen.
She holds a PhD in International Criminal Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland and two LLM degrees in International and Comparative Law, one from Tulane University, School of Law and one from New York University, School of Law. Additionally, she has worked for the OHCHR in Geneva, the UNHCR in New York and the Legal Advisory section of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Since November 2017, she is a member of the ILA Committee on human rights in times of emergency.
Research
- Public International Law
- International Criminal Law
- International Human Rights Law
- International Courts and Tribunals
- International Refugee Law
- Legal Theory, Moral Philosophy
Teaching
- International Law and War
- Law, Ethics and Human Rights
- Law and Conflict in International Society
- International Law, Human Rights and Intervention
Indicative Publications
- "International Law in Europe and Realism" co-authored with Prof. Shany in Oxford Handbook In International Law in Europe, 2023.
- "Revisiting the 'crisis' of International Law" in L. Gruszczynski, M. Menkes, V. Bilkova & P. Farah (eds.), The Crisis of Multilateral Legal Order: Causes, Dynamics and Implications, Routledge, London-New York: 2022.
- 'Ethical Leadership in International Organizations: Concepts, Narratives, Judgment and Assessment, Varaki, M. & Vasconcelos Vilaca, (eds.) CUP, 2021.
- Quest for Phronesis in Holy Land, in Towards Responsible Global Governance, Klabbers, J. (ed.), Varaki, M. (ed.) & Vasconcelos Vilaca, G. (ed.), 2018, Helsinki: University of Helsinki.
- "Revisiting the 'Interests of Justice' Policy Paper" 15 Journal of International Criminal Justice 3 (2017).
- "Introducing a fairness based theory of prosecutorial legitimacy before the International Criminal Court" 27 European Journal of International Law 3 (2016).
Research

War Crimes Research Group
Conducting research and teaching on war crimes (broadly conceived) and war.
Status not set
Environmental Security research group
The Environmental Security research group brings together scholars from the security community and scholars working on issues of environmental security.
Status not setEvents

In Conversation with Prof. William A. Schabas: The International Legal Order’s Colour Line
Join the War Crimes Research Group to explore the historical development of regulations addressing racism and racial discrimination at the international level,
Please note: this event has passed.

In Conversation With Professor Gerry Simpson: The Cold War and International Law
Join Dr Maria Varaki from the War Crimes Research Group as she will welcome Professor Gerry Simpson for a discussion of his current research on the...
Please note: this event has passed.

Law, Politics and Judicial Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law
Professor David Kretzmer discusses the interaction of law, politics and judicial enforcement in the field of International humanitarian law
Please note: this event has passed.

Roundtable on International Law and War: Ways of Seeing
The roundtable will shed light on (re)emerging themes in International Law from a theoretical, historical and normative perspective
Please note: this event has passed.

Ukraine and International Law, Quo Vadis?
Ukraine and International Law, Quo Vadis?"
Please note: this event has passed.

International Law, the Rise of China, and the Return of Russia
A war crimes research group seminar with Professor Simon Chesterman
Please note: this event has passed.

"War"
A war crimes research group seminar with Professor Andrew Clapham
Please note: this event has passed.

The evolving international law of peace
A war crimes research group seminar with Professor Cecilia M. Bailliet.
Please note: this event has passed.

Norms in Turmoil: Democratic Governance in Peril
The Society, Culture & Law Research Theme reflect on the depleting legitimacy in modern societies
Please note: this event has passed.

Myanmar as Asia’s First Failed State? Reflections From Interventions in Syria and Libya
In this event, the panel will explore the regional and international implications on Myanmar’s potential state collapse, which portends a very large scale...
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
What do the rules of war tell us about the deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine?
MARIA VARAKI: How can international law prevent civilian suffering during war?

How has Russia violated international law?
MARIA VARAKI: The dramatic events of the last few days fundamentally challenge the basic premises of the international legal order as we know it

Research

War Crimes Research Group
Conducting research and teaching on war crimes (broadly conceived) and war.
Status not set
Environmental Security research group
The Environmental Security research group brings together scholars from the security community and scholars working on issues of environmental security.
Status not setEvents

In Conversation with Prof. William A. Schabas: The International Legal Order’s Colour Line
Join the War Crimes Research Group to explore the historical development of regulations addressing racism and racial discrimination at the international level,
Please note: this event has passed.

In Conversation With Professor Gerry Simpson: The Cold War and International Law
Join Dr Maria Varaki from the War Crimes Research Group as she will welcome Professor Gerry Simpson for a discussion of his current research on the...
Please note: this event has passed.

Law, Politics and Judicial Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law
Professor David Kretzmer discusses the interaction of law, politics and judicial enforcement in the field of International humanitarian law
Please note: this event has passed.

Roundtable on International Law and War: Ways of Seeing
The roundtable will shed light on (re)emerging themes in International Law from a theoretical, historical and normative perspective
Please note: this event has passed.

Ukraine and International Law, Quo Vadis?
Ukraine and International Law, Quo Vadis?"
Please note: this event has passed.

International Law, the Rise of China, and the Return of Russia
A war crimes research group seminar with Professor Simon Chesterman
Please note: this event has passed.

"War"
A war crimes research group seminar with Professor Andrew Clapham
Please note: this event has passed.

The evolving international law of peace
A war crimes research group seminar with Professor Cecilia M. Bailliet.
Please note: this event has passed.

Norms in Turmoil: Democratic Governance in Peril
The Society, Culture & Law Research Theme reflect on the depleting legitimacy in modern societies
Please note: this event has passed.

Myanmar as Asia’s First Failed State? Reflections From Interventions in Syria and Libya
In this event, the panel will explore the regional and international implications on Myanmar’s potential state collapse, which portends a very large scale...
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
What do the rules of war tell us about the deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine?
MARIA VARAKI: How can international law prevent civilian suffering during war?

How has Russia violated international law?
MARIA VARAKI: The dramatic events of the last few days fundamentally challenge the basic premises of the international legal order as we know it
